GLOBE 2016 – What we learned, where we’re going

March 9, 2016

This year’s GLOBE Leadership Summit for sustainable business in Vancouver will go down as one of the most memorable in recent years. And it wasn’t just the active government involvement—Justin Trudeau’s speech (where, if we can brag a little, he mentioned Bullfrog Power!) and a meeting with the premiers on carbon pricing. Throughout the conference, there was a real sense of progress that business was coming together in a new way to be part of the transition to a low carbon economy.

Key trends: beyond neutral

The circular economy – discussed by representatives from Unilever and WBCSD (World Business Council for Sustainable Development), the circular economy refers to the idea of zero-waste businesses where all waste streams are repurposed into the production of new products. Another term for it is closed-loop recycling, where waste products are recycled as raw materials in the supply chain.

Carbon positive – it’s the next step after going carbon neutral. The discussion on sustainable business has moved from solely talking about reducing impacts to ways of making a net positive contribution. Similar to the notion of the social enterprise, this new framework looks to the net positive impact that businesses can have on society.

The big topic: carbon pricing

If the presence of the premiers from four provinces (Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec) wasn’t enough, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was on hand to talk carbon pricing. But big questions remain on how it will be achieved and what it will mean for individuals and businesses across Canada.

As a leader in providing Canadians with a way to voluntarily put a price on carbon, Bullfrog Power will be closely watching this topic. What will the developing provincial and federal plans mean for individuals and businesses looking to account for their own energy-related emissions? It’s a fascinating topic—but there is still a long road ahead before these complex issues are worked out.

Challenges: transportation

One recurring theme at GLOBE 2016 was that the biggest challenge in the transition to a low carbon economy is expected to be transportation. In the electricity sector, the technology exists for us to make the transition to renewable sources. But when it comes to transportation, there are still big technology challenges to be solved before the mass adoption of zero-emissions vehicles. That transition has been at the forefront of Bullfrog Power’s most recent product – green fuel – which has been developed as a way to support renewable forms of transportation fuel today. Bullfrog’s green fuel can help ease the transition between the fossil fuel-powered vehicles of today and the electric vehicles of tomorrow.